Silver Claws
by The Spacecase
Summary: I think the loner called them Hellhounds. I know them by no such name. To me, they are simply death. Oneshot for MuffinClan. T for gore and darker themes.


_**They are getting closer. I can hear them, feel them. I can hear the vibrations in the musty air and feel ten thousand paw-steps drumming heavily on the cold, dead earth. Gleaming eyes pierce through the darkness as they slowly near. In the dim, dreary light, I can just make out a thousand claws, glinting chilling silver in the blackness of the blood-washed lands.**_

_**They are here. They are coming for us. And there is no escape. **_

**The challenge from MuffinClan is to create a story using this paragraph. Minimum of 1000 words. Paragraph is from PikaBolt101. I'm not a good writer, but it's worth a shot. *ba dum tssh* G-Get it? Because it's a one-shot. Huh? Huh? No? Okay. **

**Rated T-ish for gore, dark and violent themes, a single swear in the post-story AN, and terrible plot. And writing. And everything, really. Turn back while you can, friend.**

* * *

_They are getting closer. I can hear them, feel them. I can hear the vibrations in the musty air and feel ten thousand paw-steps drumming heavily on the cold, dead earth. Gleaming eyes pierce through the darkness as they slowly near. In the dim, dreary light, I can just make out a thousand claws, glinting chilling silver in the blackness of the blood-washed lands. _

_They are here. _

_They are coming for us. _

_And there is no escape _ from the creatures. We don't know what they are. Hellhounds, I heard a loner call them once. Eyes glowing red, pitch black fur. The dreaded claws that shine like molten silver. I wonder how they look so pure, when they should be stained with the blood of countless others. I don't know what they're called, the loner may have been right. But I know them only as death.

They came from the Dark Forest, some sick concoction created by the damned cats with shadowed pelts. The Elder says they're a last stand against the living, one last attempt to cause misery and suffering. They've certainly succeeded. The creatures demand two sacrifices each moon. If we do not comply, well...I don't want to think about it.

We have a chance to volunteer. Step forward, let our loved ones live. If there is not a sufficient amount of volunteers, they will choose. Any cat is eligible. The kit next to me is living proof of that. She shivers in the cold, mewling for her mother. She doesn't know what's coming.

Oh, how I envy her.

I don't know how two scrawny excuses for cats are enough to feed the colossal pack for an entire moon. I hear they don't eat your flesh and blood. I hear they feast on your very soul. I've never seen what a soul looks like. Maybe it's enough to feed them, I don't know. I don't question it.

_Curiosity killed the cat, _mother always said.

Ha, look how that turned out for me.

One steps forward. It is larger than the others. It sniffs me, and I try not to flinch _ohstarclandeathisstaringmeintheface. _I give in and jolt, backing away slightly. The creature growls, a horrifying, indescribable sound that echoes across the plain. I look back and see the others of my Clan, staring. A resigned look upon each of their faces. There is no life in their eyes.

A snarl makes me turn back to the situation at hand. The creature is looking at the kit now. It pokes the pathetic creature with its nose. The kit squirms, calling out for its mother once more. It turns back to me, and I know what it means.

I will be taken first, and for this I am glad. I could not bear to see the poor kit...well, you know. What happens to you, if you don't have a soul? You can't go to StarClan, can you? Do you just...cease to exist? I don't want that to happen.

…

_What if I become one of them?_ I think I'd rather cease to exist.

It lunges, silver claws tearing into my flesh.

_Pain, oh the pain, please let it end, StarClan let it end_

I succumb to the darkness. I succumb to the claws.

* * *

Something went wrong, I think. I am one of the creatures, now. A Hellhound. My eyes are red like blood, my pelt black like night. But this fearsome visage is not my own. When I see my reflection in the lake, I see a normal, stone grey cat staring back at me. The others see only their skin, but I see my soul. Which is why I know something went wrong. I still have a soul. I still feel, and I do not hunger for sustenance- for other souls- as they do. I don't think they remember.

I'm almost completely sure they were all cats once, too. But it seems only I remember. I feel something shuffling next to me. A pelt brushing past, coarse and identical to my own.

We're on our way to the sacrifice. I'm so scared. I could never watch it happen, back when I was a cat. Here, I'm not only expected to watch, but feed with the others! We reach the clearing, lit only by the fireflies flitting about. There is no moon or stars. Not anymore. They're gone, consistently covered by a thick layer of clouds. Most of the cats are hanging back by the trees. The same resignation, the same empty eyes. They are exactly the same, save for one thing; two are missing from their ranks.

In the middle of the clearing stand two cats. One is a senior warrior, well-muscled with a stocky build. His tail twitches, most likely a nervous tick. The other is far too young, and I feel my heart sinking. He's scarcely old enough to be an apprentice. He's trembling with fear, olive eyes widened in pure terror.

The One beckons for me. I approach him, and he whispers to me in the Hellhound's language, which is harsh and horrible and not my own. _It is time, young one, for you to prove yourself. You are different. You do not act like the others. You are not mindless, and certainly not soulless. Go on. Eat. If you fail, the others will know. And we wouldn't want that...now would we?_

Oh, StarClan. I don't want to do this. I can't do this. But he glares at me. He knows I'm different, but that is not a good thing. Different is bad. Different is threatening. He wants to break me, make me one of his soldiers. Shaking slightly, I step forward, observing the two cats closely. I look at the warrior first, who flattens his ears and resists the urge to hiss. His tail twitches madly, but there is no other reaction.

So I move on to the apprentice. I can see him withholding a mewl. He's the most terrified I've ever seen a cat. I lean in, closely. His trembling becomes more prominent, if that's even possible.

"When I nod, run," I whisper in a tongue I haven't heard or used for a moon. "I'll hold them off."

He blinks, clearly not sure of what he just heard. I can't blame him; who would have thought the big, lumbering beast could talk, much less feel sympathy? But after a moment, he nods. I stare at the warrior. I remember him, vaguely. He wasn't very friendly. I disliked him greatly. But I have no desire to see him dead, so I tell him the same thing I told the younger one. He looks at me through narrowed eyes, distrust evident.

I look back at the other Hellhounds. I can almost feel the hunger radiating off of them in waves. Looking back at the cats, I nod. The apprentice bolts, but the warrior does not. Clearly, he didn't trust me. His loss.

A few Hellhounds run after the apprentice. I lunge at one, ripping into its side. Black blood spurts from it, and it lies still on the ground. These claws are strong, but I'm still vaguely surprised they could take down one of us with one hit. I move on the the next, who leaves me with a large gash in my leg. I'm slowed down slightly, but I can't be stopped. I tackle the last one, biting its throat and tearing out a large chunk. It kicks out blindly, tearing my stomach. I lie on the ground, unable to move, trying to retain as much blood as possible. More Hellhounds swarm over me, and I thrash in pain as they shred my limbs.

In my last second existing, I see the apprentice running away into the forest, not looking back.

_It was worth it._

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**See, children? This is why Space does not write. It's horrifying! Not only in content and overall theme, which can be relatively grim and disturbing, but the quality is even worse! But, quality wasn't really my aim here, I suppose. Just to complete a challenge. 0D There are also a lot of plotholes, and I may as well explain a few.**

_**Why did the main character retain their soul?**_

**I have no idea. The story was supposed to stop at the bit about succumbing to the claws, but that is, sadly, less than 1000 words, so I had to stumble on with my shitty writing. **

_**But, Space, wouldn't they have noticed that the main character's soul wasn't missing when they don't feel any nourishment from consuming the main character? **_

**Haha, they sure would. Shut up. **

_**This doesn't meet all the requirements! You based it on the paragraph, sure, but it was supposed to be about a group of cats fighting something! Sacrifices are hardly fighting, now are they?**_

**Good point, hypothetical/nonexistent reader! I don't know if the battle towards the end counts, since it's one creature that****used ****to be a cat against creatures that are definitely ****not****cats. Ah well. **

_**This story is stupid and unlikely and your writing is horrible. Kill urself **_

**Well, that's your opinion, friend. Feel free to share it through a review! **

**Wow, compliment fishing and review fishing in one AN! I'm such a wonderful person. **


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